Valentine Jordan Nesbit III – 50th Reunion Essay

Valentine Jordan Nesbit III

Date of Death: 31-Jan-2005

College: Berkeley

(This memorial was submitted by Richard B. Tucker.)

Val was an American Studies major and resident of Berkeley. After singing with the Freshman Chorus, Val was a member of the Apollo Glee Club during both sophomore and junior years. For all four years, he served as a manager for the Varsity basketball team, being honored with a Major “Y” in his senior year. His love for college basketball didn’t stop after Yale; he remained an avid fan for life, and managed to attend at least ten NCAA Final Fours.

In the early ’70s Val worked as a banker in Baltimore, while also serving as a member of the US Army Reserve. It was during this period that he met Eleanor Becker—soon to become his wife. Their bond grew closer over hiking, camping, sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, and playing bridge, and culminated in a 1974 marriage, bringing Val three instant children, aged 10 through 13.

In order to help out with some businesses owned by Eleanor’s father, the family of five moved to Huntington, West Virginia in 1977. Here, for a six-year stint, Val helped manage the amusement park, while Eleanor assisted with the furniture business. By 1983, however, the Nesbits were ready for warmer climes, and moved to Tampa, Florida. It was in Tampa that Val and Eleanor discovered a business they would enjoy for over 20 years, A Choice Nanny. This was a nanny referral service; they bought a franchise in the mid-1980s, and they owned and operated the business until Val’s untimely death in 2005.

Throughout their 33 years together, Val and Eleanor loved to travel, with trips to Kenya, the Ukraine, and western Canada to name a few. They were devotees of the theater and musical concerts, and they continued to love bridge. Often they played bridge together, and Val played as well with a men’s group on a regular basis.

I became a good friend of Val’s in 1954. I was a classmate for eleven years prior to Yale as well as for the four years at Yale. Val was a great guy, and we miss him!